LPL Financial LLC Acquires 42,238 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 602,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 42,238 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of American Express worth $139,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,489 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,902,000 after buying an additional 1,538 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,666 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,251 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Prairieview Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $341,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $255.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $245.86 and its 200 day moving average is $235.06. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $261.75. The firm has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.